SEATBELTS My m78 had the old type seatbelts without a catch on the seatbelts itself.
The seatbelts was to be folded around a hinged pin in the center tunnel
mounted belt-anchor, when in use. This worked well enough, but when the
new type gear lever console (m83, onwards)
was to be installed, the new type seatbelts had to be installed too. One problem with the new type belt-anchors, is noise. (?) The thick steel wire is covered with a hard plastic tube, which rattles up and down, due to a little slack. I lifted the plastic tube up, and gave the bottom end a few turns of NITTO self-vulcanisation rubber tape. Problem solved. When I installed the Recaro Ortoped drivers seat, it came in conflict with the seatbelt unit, positioned on the b-pillar. (4/5door only). Both would not fit the car at the same time. In a conflict between a RECARO seat and a SEATBELT, it is quite clear that something will have to be done... to the seatbelt ! The solution was simple. The seatbelt unit has two possible holes for the bolt. Normally the lower hole is used. Using the upper hole, repositioned the seatbelt unit further down, and away from the seat's way. This, of course meant drilling a new hole in the pillar for the seatbelt unit's guide pin. The next problem was that the seatbelt would not fully retract, when not in use. The upper bolt-hole is closer to the belt drum than the lower hole. As the seatbelt rolls on to the drum, it gets thicker, and stops when it gets in contact with the (now nearer) bolt's head. The cure was grinding material off the bolt's head.
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